Fight Klub (TCG)

[marthwmaster]

"Who would win?" is one of the most popular phrases among fans of anything, be it anime, superhero comics, movies, etc. There's a trading card game coming out that is based on this question, called Fight Klub (yes, that's Klub with a "K"). I've been following the development of Fight Klub for about eight months, and I couldn't be more excited with how it has turned out.

The multi-license TCG model has been in existence for years, but it has never been attempted on this scale. Basically, fans flood the game's forum with the names of characters they'd like to see in Fight Klub, and the developers put these names into a poll that is due to go up soon. Once a character is voted in, they'll try extra hard to acquire the license(s) necessary to put him or her into Fight Klub.

This leads me to the main reason I'm mentioning the game here. As sad as it is to admit, anime comprises a very small part of geek culture, meaning it will be harder to vote anime characters into the game. To compensate, I want to get every possible otaku into this game, so that our favorite characters can get voted in.

The way Fight Klub is being marketed is quite unique, and may be the determining factor in deciding whether this game sinks or swims. While there is a system in place to support local game stores, the actual distribution of Fight Klub is entirely based from their website; this is to cope with the decline in the TCG industry by limiting print to overall demand. In fact, if it weren't for this I'd be scared to get into another card game that isn't called Magic or WoW. Players are encouraged to spread awareness about the game, which is what I'm doing here. It's invitation-based, meaning an existing player gives you their handle, and that acts as a sort of password to join. My handle is Marth.

Go here to learn more.

[Erranty]

So who do we say sent us? Just Marth?

EDIT:
Woah, wait a minute. Decipher? As in the same people that made .hack//enemy? That TCG went under! I still have a bunch of cards from it!

[marthwmaster]

Decipher ran into a lot of money issues four years ago, and it took them a while to recoup, but they received a sizeable investment a while back from a company that has faith in them. I can't remember what the company's name is because the article was posted on the preliminary site, which is no longer active. I chose not to mention Decipher's name here because I don't feel problems they had four years ago should be held against them now, after their having had almost a decade of huge success with games like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings.

I'm being very careful about which games I get into these days. Anyone who's familiar with the industry knows that these days, you either have to get into a juggernaut like WoW, Magic, or Pokémon, or go without. Like I said, I'm paying attention to this game mostly because of its unique distribution system...and also the game concept itself.


Also, I still have some .hack//Enemy. If you're ever interested in playing a game online, let me know either here or on the FK site.

[Retribution]

Ha, I thought i saw you on the fight klub forums. I'm a FM too. I'd vouch for this game. I've been playing it with a bunch of friends and we agree that its really cool. Its completely different than all other tcgs/ccgs. Instead of relying on pure power or getting out your ultimate card, you focus on the strategy and chance between the cards and your opponent's moves. Its a really cool game, especially with characters from rambo, army of the dead, silence of the lambs, the lost boys, devils rejects, and more. Its worth just taking a look at least.

[marthwmaster]

I've said this on the forums, but I would like to see a little anime make its way into the game, because let's face it: as niche as anime is in the western entertainment market, our game already has stuff from Species in it. I mean...

[Retribution]

Unfortunately I think that they'll be making cards for comics and video games before they really hit on anime.

[marthwmaster]

I remain optimistic. It's based on votes. If we don't pick one, or perhaps two, anime characters to throw our support behind, then yes, it could well be a long time before we see any of them. Schrodinger's Cats - my gang - is in the process of developing a potential solution, but it requires a lot of support, which is why I wanted to share this game with fellow anime appreciators. Even if you don't intend to purchase product, but are still willing to check it out, I encourage you to sign up and help out those of us who are into it, by voting on whichever character begins to emerge, to get over that first hurdle of getting an animated character into the game, period.

[Retribution]

heh, what are the chances, I'm a part of Schrodinger's Cats too. I've been keeping my eye on the votes for a while, and will keep doing so. The minute I see a vote for anime character's I will be voting.

[marthwmaster]

When you consider that the population of Schrodinger's Cats dwarfs that of any other gang, the chances are actually fairly good. Plus, if you're active at all on the boards you should know who I am already, and I think you do.

[marthwmaster]

I thought I might as well share this, it's a dream card somebody made for me (I wrote up the stats for him; he handled the technical stuff).



I haven't playtested him yet, but from just eyeballing him I would say he's more or less balanced with the other characters. The interesting thing about this game, though, is how characters can have ever so slightly varying strengths, because their signature cards (cards restricted to a specific character) also affect their play balance. So in other words, if the playtesters determined that this card was really weak compared to the other characters, his signature cards might end up being made more powerful to compensate.

[Retribution]

I don't post much on the boards but I try and keep up with what goes on. Yagami looks fairly ballanced. His stats remind me somewhat of the hannibal lecter card. Ufortunately I haven't really had the money to buy any kilos yet, bu I plan on picking up set one and 2 of set 2 so I can get the bonus. I just need to get the $90 to throw away.

[marthwmaster]

You actually need to get three of any particular set in order to achieve the Black Beauty - and One doesn't come with a Black Beauty. In all honesty, I recommend buying three of One or three of Two; that way you get a set of everyone's signature cards, which is a Big Deal.

[Retribution]

Thanks for the tip. I would've been ticked off if I had found that out when it was too late. I'll most likely get 3 of 2 in that case. But like I said, I need $90 to blow first. I'm looking forward to the chance to be able to use my own cards instead of set I bought to demo for people. I hate using the demo decks even though they are free.